Sunday, October 26, 2014

Petit Point Carpet...OMG!...A GLUE SMEAR!

Today I had to take the petit point carpet off the frame. I wanted to turn
it around to stitch the other half looking at it right side up. Doing that
won't make any difference to the direction of the stitches.

The frame I bought to work it on uses hook and loop tape (commonly called
Velcro). This is what holds the silk gauze on to the stretcher bars. I have kept
the piece tight on the frame. Unfortunately, that caused the tape to move and
got glue from the back of the tape on the remaining silk gauze I had rolled up.
( Could you hear me scream when I found that?) Grrrrrrrr

I think the best idea to get the glue off the un-stitched gauze is to
sandwich those areas between pieces of paper towels and iron in those spots.
Just those spots because I would be afraid to iron over the stitches. If anyone
else has a better idea I would love to hear it.

I have no idea what the back of everyone else's petit point looks like.
This is the back of mine (such as it is). There aren't any knotted up wads of
thread I am proud to say. Now that I have it off the frame I can feel that it
really is the same thickness too.

I was so excited to find this raspberry leather. It may not show it on this photo but it is a perfect match to the over all color in tone of the carpet. I think I will make a child's tufted antique leather chair out of it.

19 comments:

I think it is just beautiful, both front and back. With this many colours, mine are never that tidy on the back!

Not so sure about ironing the glue residue though, it might turn brown. Have you thought of using a colourless nail polish remover? It works a treat on superglue. It does take a while, but it doesn't harm your skin, so maybe also not the silk???

You poor poor thing. After all these hours and hours of work a problem like this is enough to make anyone scream. I have no idea about the glue. Before you put the iron to it is there anyway you can do a test? If you have any spare silk, try to deliberately get some glue on it and then try various things to get it off. It would be catastrophic if ironing it made things worse.

The back of your needlepoint looks exactly as it should in my opinion. This is a wonderful work of art. I hope things sort out for you.

Oh wow! It's looking stunning, both sides. I'd try dry cleaning fluid on the glue, heat could affect the life of the silk gauze. Try stitching the gauze to a strip of fabric or cotton tape rather than using anything sticky directly on the gauze.

Catherine I'm am so sorry... I can't see what you are referring to but I would be leery of ironing, Seems like melting it is not a good idea. Look into how to clean silk, maybe there is a fluid that is for that purpose or a cleaner like goof off finding out if it is ok on silk. I wish I had an answer for you. But the rug is absolutely beautiful and the back is perfect!

Catherine, your rug looks fabulous and what an amazing speed! The backside of the rug looks very neat. I am sorry to hear you have problems with glue. I wouldn't use an iron. Probably would wait when glue dries and clean it as much as possible and then stitch over... It is hard to advice without seeing and feeling. I hope you will find a successful solution. Hugs, Natalia

Hi Catherine! The front and the back look equally Beautiful! Your progress is as fast as Natalia's who is also a "Turbo" needle artist. I recently found A GLUE ERASER, which is supposed to remove glue. It is a flexible but hard rubbery product that looks like beeswax, but isn't. I have used it to get out Blue tack from cotton with a reasonable amount of success, but I don't know what it would do for silk as it does take off some of the fiber with the friction. If I remember correctly, I bought it at the Fabric Store in the notions department. But I also would advise caution, like the others, before chancing your Beautiful rug to the iron.

For goodness sake don't iron it. Heat makes it worse, I promise you. The thing that takes tape glue off material is tape glue. Use a piece of sticky tape to dab on the glue spots. It will stick to the more adhesive tape and let go of the material, you just need to be patient =0/Very worst scenario, nail varnish remover (acetone) will take it off but may ruin the fabric =0(

Hello Catherine! Your carpet is gorgeous as you well already know! I've tried petite point and appreciate the difficulty. It is not my thing. You are doing a stunning job of it. I agree with Pepper........sticky tape has worked very well for me at removing tape glue residue from fabric. Good luck and don't iron.Wishing you well!Ray

That is just amazing, the intricate design looks so crisp, you must be using an awfully small needle and thread. I hope you solve your glue problem, I think the technique you mentioned is for wax isn't it?

I haven't done anything yet to the silk canvas to try and get the glue off. I will call Nordic Needle today. They are the people I bought the frame from with the STICKY TAPE Velcro system. Grrrrrrrrrrrr

You can purchase dry cleaning fluid in small cans. That would be my first choice for trying as a spot remover. Of course test it on an edge that won't be stitched over first before you treat a spot in the middle.

My favorite go to adhesive remover is 3M adhesive remover. It can be used on fabrics although I personally have never tried it on fabrics. You can purchase it at auto parts stores. I would get the can of liquid rather than the spray. Again you must test it on a scrap before you try it on the silk. But it won't be a waste if it does not work on the silk as it is terrific for removing adhesives from stickers and such and it can be used on plastics too. It also cleans surfaces such as metal and plastics of contaminants before painting them and it does not leave a residue.

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Welcome to my blog!
I am artist and a metalsmith. I have always loved miniatures and dollhouses. My interest in making miniatures is not restricted to the metal work I do. This year I plan to design and build a dollhouse.
I do not sell the miniatures I am making right now while I am trying to build my own collection.
Who is Kilmouski? ... He's my cat. And he sits right next to me no matter how many hours I work.